Roots Project

01/13/2024

Right now the temp is hovering around -30F with the wind chill. Water, calories and wind break are our top priorities. The really cool thing about animals that are raised in such a way that they need to survive their environment... They tend to instinctively take care of themselves. Here is our creek that is our current water source. The ice is 2” thick, if not more now. The water went from free flowing to frozen over in under 24 hours. When we did herd check last night, we brought the Pulaski to break ice. Low and behold, the cows already have a small 3” hole in the ice that they all take turns drinking from. In 5 years we have only broke ice once that I can think of. We are heading into the next 24 hours of sub zero and everyone is doing well.

04/22/2023

One aspect of the 2022 abundant rain was that we had an abundance of hay harvested. We had around 100-700lb hay bales that didn’t even fit in the two barns. Most ranchers would take the opportunity for creating financial revenue on the surplus. We decided that we needed to leave as much nutrition on the land as possible. This hay has been used as bedding in our areas that we are remediating. Just because grazing season hasn’t started, doesn’t mean we can’t use same principles for intensive grazing. Our cattle is in a concentrated area right now, so we can let the grass have a good start. We will kick out very soon with the way the sun has been shining lately. In the mean time, the mommas are massaging all this excess carbon into the earth to help build up soil in an area that needs built up. We choose to nutrient cycle, meaning everything taken from the land is put back into the land in a symbiotic manner. The more soil created, the better water absorption we have for seasons of drought. Investment isn’t always = to dollar signs. While it does have financial implications, it’s a “savings account” for those seasons of low production. ♻️

04/19/2023

This is Ranch life. Wrangling becomes a spa treatment in the nutrient rich soil. Calves get shotgun seat in the rig . This calf hasn’t been doing great. Mom is mothering her, but she just isn’t supplying the nutrition this lil lady needs to grow and keep up with the rest. She is merely surviving. We made the decision after 4 weeks of life, that it was time to take her into the nursery and bottle feed her. This is a first for us though. We have bottle fed many animals in our time ranching but this gal has the weirdest suck reflex. This is probably why she isn’t getting adequate nutrition. Proper latch is key! Definitely open to input from those with experience. She has desire to eat and instead wraps her tongue around the ni**le and tries to draw milk that way. She doesn’t have a cleft pallet either. But this method is exhausting to both her and myself as she barely gets anything out that way.

04/09/2023